The Ultimate Dennis the Menace Thread 4 4

[ComicBookGuy]

Now here's a story I came across that is just hilarious. It is four pages long and from Dennis the Menace #33. Enjoy!

 

Page 1 of 4:

 

[ComicBookGuy]

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[ComicBookGuy]

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[ComicBookGuy]

Page 4 of 4:

 

 

 

What a great idea for a story. I can't help but to wonder if this is based on a real incident. Hard to find more pandemonium in four pages than you see here. And poor old Mr. Wilson...

 

Joe

[BillyBatson4360]

Loved the story. Ironically, Joe, I was thinking of scanning a page or two of it yesterday when I posted the shoot the chutes art! "Great minds think alike, eh?"

 

Bill Wray, if you'd care to fill us in on why you find Wiseman "stiff." I think his stories are filled with action. Mr. Wilson's double takes in the story are classic. Now Wally Wood - there's a stiff artist. Wiseman, to me anyway, is clean and precise, but his drawings display a wonderful sense of action. His drawing style is not loose and rubbery, the way Harvey Kirtzman's is (and I love Kurtzman!), but it's a long way from stiff.

 

Yes Joe, that was the former President Herbert Hoover, although I'm sure the title was only honorary. I doubt ol' HH ever personally preused a copy of Dennis the Menace to make sure it was wholesome enough for America's youth.

 

As kid, I never understood why so many comics (Dell used to push a similar kind of message) went out their way to establish how good and pure they were because I never understood how recent the horror/crime comic witchhunt had been to the start of my comic reading. Those comics were not on the newsstands when I started buying, but they had only been gone for two or three years. That's also he reason why the Comics Code symbol is displayed so prominently.

 

And kudos the JRW for sharing those insights. Now, I have to go back and dig out those issues that I just boxed up to check the references he made. I do know in the model building story, Dennis and his dad wind up with a model of the sailing ship U.S.S Constitution (again, rendered in equisite detail by the master, AW).

[balger-migration]

Great story! Thanks for posting.

 

Bill A.

[balger-migration]

Bill Wray, if you'd care to fill us in on why you find Wiseman "stiff." I think his stories are filled with action. Mr. Wilson's double takes in the story are classic. Now Wally Wood - there's a stiff artist. Wiseman, to me anyway, is clean and precise, but his drawings display a wonderful sense of action. His drawing style is not loose and rubbery, the way Harvey Kirtzman's is (and I love Kurtzman!), but it's a long way from stiff.

 

I can see Bill Wray's point to a degree, but instead of "stiff", I would substitute "less animated". I feel that the earlier Wiseman Dennis art was a bit more emotional and seemed to rely less on style guide-like poses. But that said, the drawing in the later stories is always excellent.

 

I do think that his reliance on detail tended to overpower a good bit of his post-Dennis advertising work, though...

 

Bill A.

[jedijim-migration]

Like many (if not all), I too, am a huge fan of Wiseman's art and am thrilled to actually find a forum of similar folk. My DTM history starts with the In Hawaii story from '73 and began a quest to get all the early issues. I am in awe of Wiseman clean lines and sense of balance and perspective that I lost all interest in the "looser" art of later issues. I think my favorite Bonus issue is #4 Vacation special where they go to Monterary and meet Bing Crosby. Beautiful art! My collection is far from complete and nowhere near what many here have, however I do have all the Wiseman issues including a VF+ issue of #1 (it isn't slabbed, but I bought it from Metropolis in NY about 15 years ago and they had it listed as a NM). I also have VG copy that I bought for $30 when I was 18. I have a few pieces of original art, a daily from Oct '51 (it's the panel that's actally reprinted on the cover of those little metal coasters that came out in the early 50's, the gag is something about a "tantrum") that I'm sure was drawn by Ketchum, a fantastic '53 Sunday with Dennis and father on a roller coaster (that I, at least, think is inked by Wiseman) and a page from issue #3. I have to agree with all of you, that as a person looking for high grade early issues they are extremely hard to find. In thirty years of looking, I've seen around 6 copies of issue #1 with only one in as good of shape as mine, but that doesn't mean they don't exist. I too, am always amazed to see a Richie Rich #1 (which I also have and love) file copy go for crazy money (3K and up) and yet Dennis stuff in that grade, which I know is more rare. doesn't command any where near that.

 

Finally, to add my two cents in on the actual first day of DTM, I think the Fantagraphics press release is incorrect. (By the way, they are NOT reprinting the Sunday strips as part of there upcoming series, major disappointment) I believe the first strip debuted on March 12th 1951 (not 14th). Why?? The 12th was a Monday (the traditional day that a new strip would start), Maurice Horn in the Encyclopedia of Comics lists the 12th as day one, and finally, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, which was one of the first papers to publish Dennis (and they still do) during the week leading up to the 12th were publishing little Coming On Monday teaser ads. I have attempted to attach a .jpg of one, so we'll see if it works.

 

I really love hearing all your stories, and seeing your collection. More later.

 

Jim

Edited May 2, 2005 by jedijim

[balger-migration]

Like many (if not all), I too, am a huge fan of Wiseman's art and am thrilled to actually find a forum of similar folk.

Jim

 

Welcome Jim! I was hoping you'd be posting soon.

 

Best,

Bill A.

[Jon-migration]

Finally, to add my two cents in on the actual first day of DTM, I think the Fantagraphics press release is incorrect. The 12th was a Monday (the traditional day that a new strip would start)

 

I had previously given this reasoning and just today I went to the Library and checked out the Chicago Tribune for March of 51. It definitely started running Dennis on Monday March 12 with the panel previously posted here (Dennis telling the policeman they'd run out of gas). The march 14th panel is included here (I hope)

[Jon-migration]

OK, I see my strip of March 14 avaialable as an attachment, but how do I get it to embed into the message as others have done? I'm attaching another one here. It's the second strip from Tuesday March 13. Note Dennis is wearing a Yale 1966 shirt. The date would inditate Dennis was born in 1944 so he would be 7 when the strip started.

 

And does anyone know, was Ketchum a Yale grad?

[Wiseguy-migration]

First off, welcome JediJim.

 

Billy,

I had my stack of DTM up on the shelves for so long. I have packed and unpacked them so many times in the last two weeks,(whew!) now I just try and keep them nearby for reference. Gotta get my glasses checked also.

 

I was just thinking...somewhere out there are at least 3 sets of hardbound DTM comicbooks.

Every year the publisher would bound up all the books for that year and send them to

Hank, Fred Toole, my father, and ....maybe the publisher has a set???

I am pretty sure Fred's set went to someone in his wife's family.

Hanks estate may still have thiers.

I have no idea where my fathers set ended up.

Kinda like a Grail search huh?

At least my small fingerprints are in the AW set.

 

JRW

Edited May 2, 2005 by Wiseguy

[ComicBookGuy]

Jon, it's great to see you back on the thread after what I'm sure must have been a tough weekend. Also, thanks for helping out on definitively resolving this issue once and for all.

 

Here is the picture that was your attachment for the March 14, 1951, panel, which is now known to be the third Dennis comic ever:

 

[ComicBookGuy]

OK, I see my strip of March 14 avaialable as an attachment, but how do I get it to embed into the message as others have done? I'm attaching another one here. It's the second strip from Tuesday March 13. Note Dennis is wearing a Yale 1966 shirt. The date would inditate Dennis was born in 1944 so he would be 7 when the strip started.

And does anyone know, was Ketchum a Yale grad?

 

Jon, thanks for scanning the second Dennis strip ever from Tuesday, March 13, 1951. I will go back and repost the first one so we will have the first three all together for everyone to see.

 

As for Yale, HK never went there to my knowledge. His bio shows him growing up, going to Hollywood and working for Walter Lantz and Walt Disney, going to war in WWII, then living in New York freelancing until 1948 when he moved to Carmel. In Carmel he started his family and created Dennis -- both the kid and the strip.

 

Joe

 

[ComicBookGuy]

 

And here, of course, is the first ever Dennis comic from what we now know is March 12, 1951. Apologies to the Kings Feature researcher whom I identified as doing "slipshod research."

 

Joe

[BillyBatson4360]

First of all, Jedijim, welcome! We are glad to have any and all Dennis/Wiseman fans here! Thanks for clearing up the mystery of when the newspaper strip started. If you have that VF copy of DTM # 1, I'm hoping you'll post a scan as you probably have the best existing copy! Congrats!

 

Jon, loved the early Dennis strips. I wouldn't put too much stock in the "Class of 1966" reference as Dennis' age has been established as being perpetually between 4 and 5 years old. I remember when I started reading the books I was close to Dennis' age. Last night I told my wife that, unfortunately, I'm now much closer to Mr. Wilson's age.

 

Mr. Alger, I really hope you favor us with some examples of Wiseman's post-Dennis work. I am completely in the dark about what he did in the latter part of his career (except for the scant bits of information I've picked up from reading this thread). It breaks my heart to think that a creator that talented finished his career away from the medium where he really excelled, but I'd still love to see the art that he produced.

 

Also, does anyone have any examples of the Yogi Bear newspaper strip from the period when AW was drawing it? I've seen one or two examples and it would be great to have some samples posted here.

[ComicBookGuy]

I am in awe of Wiseman clean lines and sense of balance and perspective that I lost all interest in the "looser" art of later issues...

 

I have to agree with all of you, that as a person looking for high grade early issues they are extremely hard to find. In thirty years of looking, I've seen around 6 copies of issue #1 with only one in as good of shape as mine, but that doesn't mean they don't exist. I too, am always amazed to see a Richie Rich #1 (which I also have and love) file copy go for crazy money (3K and up) and yet Dennis stuff in that grade, which I know is more rare. doesn't command any where near that.

 

Jim, welcome to the boards!

 

It's amazing how many Dennis collectors we are discovering. Thanks for your insights on the first panel, and I hope we get to see your nice #1 and some cool art.

 

With regard to #1, I think the Dennis #1 doesn't go for crazy money cause there hasn't been a file copy or high grade copy available for sale -- that I know of anyway. On the other hand, those Harvey file copies keep popping up. Dealers will hype the back-issue market on books they have, perhaps like a Richie Rich #1, which is a tough book, but one which you can find if you look. Dennis #1 is a book dealers don't have, so they want to buy it and certainly will not hype it and risk having to pay more for it. Many people have a Dennis #1 on their want lists so dealers will keep the hype low, buy it as cheaply as they can, then hype it once they have one to sell to get top dollar for it. This is not a knock against dealers, but a typical pattern in our hobby which is understandble. Who doesn't want to get top dollar when they sell? I for one am certainly eager to see your copy posted!

 

As for Wiseman's art, I don't think you'll find anyone here who disagrees that Wiseman is the best of all the Dennis artists, including Ketcham. By the same token, I'm not sure it's fair for us to compare the other artists to Wiseman any more than it is to compare duck artists to Barks - for a couple reasons. I admit I'm guilty of this by calling the post-Wiseman art "looser," but Ketcham clearly opted for a more cartoonish - perhaps more kid-friendly - style for the strip from the late 1960s on and trained his artists to draw in this style. (And this is not to say that Wiseman is not "kid friendly" at all!) I'm sure the artists could have persued a style closer to more a realistic-looking Wiseman style if Ketcham had pushed for that. It's a different style, to be sure, but I think it does have a different sort of charm to it that I still find enjoyable. I personally have enjoyed all the Dennis artists and continue to enjoy them to this day. But if you were to ask me who was my favorite artist, I definitely agree with you and will have to go with Wiseman, with the early Ketcham style (mid-50s to mid-60s) a close second.

 

It may be interesting to start a poll here about the artists.

 

Again, welcome to the boards!

 

Joe

[ComicBookGuy]

Just for the sake of curiosity, I created this poll. It will be fun to create some other Dennis related ones, such as rating the stories, issues, covers, episodes of the tv show, etc.

 

For this poll, if I did it correctly , you can vote for only one choice, and you can't see the poll results till you vote.

 

Joe

[ComicBookGuy]

Here's another poll. I hope nobody thinks it's off-topic. I think as long as it's related to Dennis the Menace it's on topic.

Again, vote for only one, and you will see the results after you vote.

Joe

[ComicBookGuy]

And a final poll for this evening. Same rules. Enjoy!